Roxor Blog

Brooke White has been hanging on a string as far as her American Idol performances go. I am not too fond of her performances to date and believe she is long overdue to be sent home. I believe the only thing keeping her in the Idol running is her down to earth girlish charm. Other than her looks and charm, she has been turning in less than stellar performances. She messes up a line here, delivers a weak performance and still she hangs in there. To me it is frustrating to see a contestant that turned in a much better performance than Brooke get sent home while she keeps getting more and more chances. What does she do with all these chances she keeps getting? Well, if you ask me, nothing.

David Cook has been one of my favorites since the start of the final 12 contestants on American Idol. Not only is he very talented but he brings a unique style to the show. Unlike other contestants David changes a song to match his criteria and takes chances by going out on stage in front of millions of people and offering up his rendition of the song. His renditions have been absolute genius in my opinion and he always puts his own twist to the tune. And he is not just some one-song wonder. David has managed to consistently put out quality tunes every single week and consistently challenge his skills and impress the judges with his amazing renditions.

Whew! It’s been quite awhile since R.E.M released any sort of album. What took so long? Who knows! Their first album in nearly four years, Accelerate is a total rock victory for the band. Accelerate is the first album by R.E.M. absent Bill Berry who quit in 1997. When the popular drummer left the band, singer Michael Stipe was quoted as saying that R.E.M. had become a “three-legged dog” with Berry’s departure. Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills have continued as the dynamic trio and kept R.E.M. alive.

Accelerate becomes the group’s first studio album in four years. Ultimately, I must say that R.E.M. sounds whole again, which is probably the best thing about this album. R.E.M. is no longer the “three-legged dog” they claimed to be in the past – they are now complete in their purpose. Stipe sings at the end of his record, “Music will provide the light you cannot resist” and “I’m Gonna’ DJ.” You can surely believe him — as Stipe and his band believe in themselves once again.